The Mottled Owl is a common Owl along much of range in
Central and South America. It can be quite bold and will not only respond to
imitations and playbacks of it's own call but will also come in to playbacks of
smaller owls too. Here you can
find photos, recordings and information to help identify and
enjoy this beautiful owl. The Field Notes section includes a Central
American range map and information on nesting, habitat, description and
classification. To jump immediately to any of these sections
use the Page Jump Links below.

RECORDINGS Use
the sound bar play controls to play each of the recordings.

73KSan Blas, Mexico
March 2004

26KSan Blas,
Mexico
June 2001

60KIxcan, Mexico
March 2002

This is a
pair of owls with the deeper male owl calling first then the female
responding. These calls are both commonly heard in the field and they
are considered to be location calls.

This is a
pair of owls with the main owl calling with a primary advertising and
territorial call. Both this and the low single note second owl's call are
commonly heard in the field.

This is a
pair of owls. The first call is a male's primary location and territorial
call. The second vocalization is the female's "agitated contact call" and
it may be associated with territorial disputes.

FIELD NOTES
and Range Map

Mottled Owl - Ciccaba (Strix)
virgata

The
Mottled Owl can be found from Northern Mexico well down into Brazil
and Argentina in South America. Its habitat is very extensive and diverse.
It ranges from dry thorn forests to humid evergreen jungles. It inhabits
elevations between sea level and 7500 feet and is often quite abundant
within it's range.
The Mottled Owl is midsize, 13 - 15 inches in length (about the
size of a Sharp-shinned Hawk), and strictly nocturnal. It has a varied
diet consisting of large insects and beetles, small mammals and birds,
snakes, lizards, salamanders and frogs. It may be attracted to artificial
lights and is considered an opportunistic feeder. It mostly hunts from
a perch, often along a forest edge.
Recent changes to taxonomic classification for both Black-and-White
and Mottled Owls put these two in a separate classification in the Ciccaba
genius separating them from the Strix genius where similiar owls
like the Spotted, Barred, and Fulvous Owls are still classified. These
are all larger than the Mottled Owl (if you happen to see them sitting
together). The Barred and Fulvous owls have distinguishing horizontal
bars on their throats and the Spotted Owl has horizontal bars on its
throat and chest. The Mottled Owl has vertical chest and throat streaks
and its white backside markings are much less extensive than these others.
All of these owls have brown eyes (iris). They also all have distinctive
calls.
The Mottled Owl usually lays 1 to 2 eggs between February
and May. It generally nests in a hole in a tree or in the top of a broken
off palm and sometimes even in vacant nests of other birds. It is resident
(other than juvenile dispersals) and not believed to make any migratory
movements.